Show of hands. How many times have you been in conversation with people and they want nothing to do with the story of the Gospel, because they connect it with religion?

Even though most of us don’t live out what we believe, how many Christ seekers struggle with questions like; What happens when I die? Is it ok for Christians to divorce? Do I literally have to give my local church 10% of my gross pay? Did David really sleep with another man’s wife? Is the Old Testament relevant? Does purity equal worth (woman caught in adultery)? I could go on and on!

Religion tries to answer life’s questions and more, but how does Jesus answer such questions? Growing up in the church I’ve learned that religion is more about answers, order, predictability — not about people. It’s more of a systematized theology.

If you’ve spent some time walking it out on the road of life, the experience is vividly clear that life is messy and it’s not really about any of those things. We could argue that religion has it’s place, but Jesus shows us through His time on Earth that the order of things might be off. What do I mean by that? When religion eclipses humanity, it overshadows grace and mercy with power.

So what is religion?

Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary breaks it down like this: The belief in a god or in a group of gods; An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods; A personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices; or A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.

Appears that defining “religion” is not so easy. Many attempts have been made and many people focus on a very narrow definition that matches their own religion, but few if any others. Some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. Some definitions equate “religion” with “Christianity,” and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious.

That’s what I love about the life of Jesus! He turns religion inside out and puts it right on its head. Jesus and the religious leaders believed the Law of Moses were important, they also believed that people were important. What they argued over was how you prioritized them. In story after story Jesus prioritized people which put Him at odds with the religious leaders. Right?

One of the areas we find this contention was the rules of engagement pertaining to the Sabbath. There are a handful of stories that you probably know, but here is what Jesus says to the religious leaders, “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:27) It’s not like God had all these rules and thought, “I got all these great laws…I need to create some people to keep them.”

The Law is for the people, not the other way around.

Putting the law before people is not a new idea. In the Old Testament we find people got in the habit of breaking the laws, treating others bad and making a sacrifice to make it all right again. This would happen, over and over again. Sound familiar? It should, because we do it all the time thinking we’ve found God’s loophole.

What does God say about this cycle? Read Isaiah 1:11-17. God tells us time and time again to treat people well and make a sacrifice (today it would be repent) when there was an exception. Problem is that we’ve made the sacrifice a rule! How do these verses challenge most people’s views of God? What do they tell us about what He values?

Oh, about the Law… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” -Matthew 22:37–40

So lets bring this all together…

Jesus consistently prioritized people over religion, customs, and traditions. Is it difficult for you to believe that God values you above His own rules? This makes all religious people nervous, doesn’t it!

Jesus didn’t die for rules and principles, He died for people. Jesus didn’t die for the law, He died for the lawless. Jesus didn’t die for a set of rules, He died for rule breakers. Jesus didn’t die for a view, He died for you! You can know with certainty that you are more important than God’s view of religion because God’s view of you was defined by his Son’s view from the blood-stained cross He hung on with His arms opened wide towards us. Telling us how much He loves us!

So are we clear on religion?